Possible Problem With My New Smith And Wesson 642

[XD45]

I just picked up my new Smith and Wesson 642 yesterday! On the way to the range to shoot it for the first time I noticed something that is of concern.

On the forcing cone (opposite muzzle end of bore), which is a rough flat cut, I noticed a couple of very small burrs of metal protruding into the bore. Like when you do a rough cut of a metal pipe without de-burring or polishing out the metal afterwards. Perhaps this is normal on forcing cones of all new 642's? I'm not sure. When you look down the bore from the muzzle end (cylinder open) you can see a very slight metal protrusion at the other (forcing cone) end. When the cylinder is closed the protrusion is no longer visible. I'm concerned about the bullet getting knicked on its way into the bore.

One of the guys at the store where I purchased it told me it was probably a "Monday" gun and to send it back to Smith and Wesson. Another guy said to just break it in (200-300 rounds) and the burrs would smooth/polish themselves out.

I could probably smooth out these burrs with a rat tail file in under a minute but I'm NOT a gunsmith and I don't want to work on the bore of a new gun! Is it normal to have unpolished/burred forcing cones on Smith revolvers? Do they have Quality Control problems over there? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[glockman19]

I'd send it back too.

S&W Customer Service is great. 10-14 day turn around.

[Stormfeather]

XD45, dont send it back, I'll give ya $50.00 for it instead. . .

[rivviepop]

Doesn't it just make you sad though when you take home your new toy only to discover this, knowing now you have to lose it for two weeks? As if the first 10-day wait wasn't bad enough...

[XD45]

Doesn't it just make you sad though when you take home your new toy only to discover this, knowing now you have to lose it for two weeks? As if the first 10-day wait wasn't bad enough...

That's what stinks about the whole thing! Thanks for understanding rivviepop. It just sucks.

[Beelzy]

XD45, dont send it back, I'll give ya $50.00 for it instead. . .

I thought it was funny.

I would also just use an emery board and deburr it myself.

[XD45]

I thought it was funny.

I would also just use an emery board and deburr it myself.

Thanks for the advice Beelzy.

It was funny on some very low level. I just can't stand jokes that elicit fake/polite laughs...

[Stormfeather]

That's the most retarded/stupid proposal I've read on an internet forum... You're one of those guys that thinks something like that is actually funny.

You must be new to the internet. . . .

Thanks for the advice Beelzy.

It was funny on some very low level. I just can't stand jokes that elicit fake/polite laughs...

I personally thought it was very funny, if your skin isnt thick enough for a small joke like that, maybe I should just send you the $50.00 so you can buy a sense of humor?

Seriously though, if its a forcing cone issue and its possibly out of spec, give S&W customer service a call, heres there number. . .1-800-331-0852 Ext. 2904 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday - Friday.
If you are experienced with handgun repair, then do it yourself as others have said, but do so knowing that any repairs you make yourself will void your warranty if any other issues arise in the future.
Allow me to also say, welcome to calguns, good luck, and enjoy your time on Calguns, where we make lots of jokes, most of them are lame and in very bad taste, but every now and then one of us gets a good zinger in! No offense was meant, and I hope you didnt get offended.

[XD45]

You must be new to the internet. . . .



I personally thought it was very funny, if your skin isnt thick enough for a small joke like that, maybe I should just send you the $50.00 so you can buy a sense of humor?

Seriously though, if its a forcing cone issue and its possibly out of spec, give S&W customer service a call, heres there number. . .1-800-331-0852 Ext. 2904 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday - Friday.
If you are experienced with handgun repair, then do it yourself as others have said, but do so knowing that any repairs you make yourself will void your warranty if any other issues arise in the future.
Allow me to also say, welcome to calguns, good luck, and enjoy your time on Calguns, where we make lots of jokes, most of them are lame and in very bad taste, but every now and then one of us gets a good zinger in! No offense was meant, and I hope you didnt get offended.

Hey there Stormfeather. Thanks for your post. I apologize for being rude. I was just really pissed that I waited so long for this gun and now I'm faced with possibly having to send it back and waiting another couple weeks. I spoke with two rep's over at S&W this morning. One guy is sending me a shipping label to have it sent back. Another guy just told me to either fire it or cut the little burr out carefully with a sharp knife. Still not sure what I'll do. The guys over at S&W were very nice. Sorry again for being grumpy, I was just in a bad mood. After the stupid 10 day waiting period I didn't expect to have to deal with this. Cheers.

[rkt88edmo]

Did you take a close look at the rifling at the mouth of the barrel? pleny of people get annoyed when it is uneven there - if you might be you should check so they can address both.

[XD45]

Did you take a close look at the rifling at the mouth of the barrel? plenty of people get annoyed when it is uneven there - if you might be you should check so they can address both.

Thanks for the post. Funny, the rifling at the muzzle/mouth IS uneven. Is this a common occurrence on the 642 or Smith revolvers in general? This is getting ridiculous...

[rkt88edmo]

From what I've read (mostly on the high road) it isn't uncommon. Given the distances this pistol is expect to be shot at it may or may not affect things.